


1,800 years

by cacowhistle



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: a vague study of the rest of keyleth's life, this isnt edited like at all so do with that what u will lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-10-01 00:04:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20455787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cacowhistle/pseuds/cacowhistle
Summary: keyleth has been alive for 23 years when vax'ildan dies.she has also been alive for 23 years when she completes her aramente, and gains another 1,600 years or so of life.





	1,800 years

keyleth has been alive for 23 years when vax'ildan dies.

she has also been alive for 23 years when she completes her aramente, and gains another 1,600 years or so of life.

a year goes by so quickly, and percy and vex'ahlia are renewing their wedding vows. keyleth can still remember the snowdrops and the scattering black feathers as if it were just barely a week ago, and she stares down at the snowdrops she druidcrafted, crushing them in trembling fingers.

the wedding does not go as planned, but nothing ever does for vox machina.

when she sees vax again, it feels like a punch to the gut, and her grief is torn open once more. she pushes on.

keyleth has been alive for 68 years when grog dies. the rest of vox machina mourns together, and vax welcomes him to the other side with open arms and wings and assures him that they'll all be just fine, he's done a great job of protecting them.

scanlan helps pike through her grief, and keyleth does what she can. vex and percy manage, busy with their city, but keyleth makes sure they are alright.

keyleth has been alive for 85 years when percy dies. she grieves alongside the widow of whitestone - she seems to have hardly aged more than thirty years at most, and keyleth looks the same way she did the day vax'ildan died. they weep for percy, and he reunites with vax and grog on the other side.

keyleth watches over the shorthalts and the de rolos, keeps an eye on the generations as they pass by. first she is "aunt keyleth", then "great aunt keyleth", then back to "aunt keyleth" as the number of greats grows too big to keep track of.

keyleth is 174 when vex'ahlia dies. she grieves with the city of whitestone for the champion of pelor and keyleth's sister. vax'ildan and vex'ahlia are reunited, and keyleth can't help but be envious in her grief. it has been 151 years and she still cannot rid herself of the image of the snowdrops and the feathers. it's more distant, now, but still there, and keyleth spends a year shedding fresh tears for her long-lost beloved.

scanlan and pike remain by her side for as long as they can, but keyleth turns 249 and scanlan dies. keyleth grieves alongside pike, continues watching over the new de rolos and shorthalts.

keyleth turns 276, and pike is gone, reuniting with her husband and the rest of vox machina.

keyleth looks at the 1,300 years ahead of her, and spends one week weeping alone in her room.

she finally blinks back the tears and grits her teeth and pushes on.

she watches wars and the future generations of the de rolos and the shorthalts and the vessars and the rest of them, watches friends pass on. she distances herself, makes friends, but doesn't get too close. she doesn't want to increase the pain.

keyleth is 791 when she realizes she may never fall in love again, and she is perfectly fine with that.

she watches and guides the ashari, supports whitestone and emon and all of tal'dorei, tells stories of vox machina and ensures that they are immortalized, honors her friends with the tales of the adventures that she can so easily recall.

keyleth is 1,027 when she realizes she has not thought of the snowdrops and feathers in a while. she smiles, and druidcrafts snowdrops to place in the empty vase on the table in her home. her fingers do not tremble.

more years pass, and she watches tal'dorei remain strong. whitestone will not be taken down again, for as long as keyleth is alive. the most recent de rolo children beg her to tell tales of percy and vex and she does so happily, excitedly recalling the battle with sylas at their wedding. she talks of how vex'ahlia incinerated the vampire, and the youngest daughter, named for her long-late grandmother, is in awe.

keyleth watches that generation go by, and tells the shorthalt children stories of scanlan and pike and how strong they were. laughs about scanlan and his polymorphing abilities, fondly remembers pike's warm magic, a type of magic she hasn't felt in so long. she goes home and though she does not worship any god, she sends thanks to the everlight and lets herself cry once more for her friends.

sometimes it is healthier to cry.

keyleth is 1,382 when she realizes that she's begun to feel the effects of her age. she looks older now, too, no longer the perpetual 23-year-old half-elven druid. there are bits of gray in her bright red hair, her antler headpiece weathered by age, but still holding strong.

she continues to keep an eye on the families so near to her heart, continues to tell her stories and guard her people.

keyleth is 1,694 when she begins to really feel her age. she has seen so much - wars, destruction, the rise and fall of powerful people and demi-gods and so much more. she has fought dragons and demons and a lich and her grief and she has done so much that it begins to blur together, centuries getting mixed up, but the snowdrops and feathers are as clear as though they happened yesterday, and the chroma conclave is forever emblazoned in memory, and the moment in the tomb and the moment when ripley shot percy one final time and the moment when artagan asked to kill vax and scanlan limp and dead in vax's arms and every resurrection ritual and every adventure and every tavern crawl and every last moment of vox machina is forever in her memory.

she has told the stories time and time again, the legend of these heroes solidified in history.

keyleth is 1,759 when she cries for the final time.

she can feel it, her strength beginning to ebb. she looks her age, hair white, wrinkled skin, eyes wise and old and kindly.

keyleth has been alive for 1,781 years when tal'dorei weeps for the voice of the tempest.

and on the other side, vax welcomes keyleth, 23 years old once more, with wide open arms and wide open wings.


End file.
